[RESOLVED] preview an email before its sent

chinrub

Hey there all! im trying to create a system that sends out emails to a list of subscribers in a mySql database. So far this all works as i'd expect. Next on the checklist is to allow someone to preview the final output before its actually sent. I've been looking around for some help for a while now and i think im just going round in circles. Any chance anyone could point me in the right direction? I'm struggling on finding somewhere to begin. I've also just integrated FCKeditor and i wouldnt know if this bit of kit would have any effect on what I now plan to do.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

chinrub

Heres the main send mail code for those interested.

<?php
require_once('FCKeditor/fckeditor.php')
?>
<?php
include "includes/config.inc.php";
include "includes/english.inc.php";
session_start();
if(!isset($_SESSION['loggedin'])) {
   print'Sorry You Must Be Logged In To View This Page <br>
   		<a href = '.$domain.'login/login.php>Login Here</a>';

   exit();
}
?>

<tr>
  <td colspan="5">


<center>
<?php
//configFile contains Database connection Information
require_once ("includes/configFile.php");
//connect to HOST
 $conn = mysql_connect(HOST, USER, PASS)
         or die(mysql_error());
//Select Database
    mysql_select_db(DB,$conn)  or die(mysql_error());

//fills value of act with action of form
$act = $_REQUEST['act'];

//print form to screen
print'<center><p><a href='.$domain.'>';
echo"<span class=\"style1\">";
print'Go Back</a>';
echo"</style>";
print'</p></center>';
echo"
<form name=\"editform\" id=\"form\" method=\"post\" action=\"?act=send\">
	  <table width=\"300\" border=\"0\">
		<tr>
			<td><span class=\"style1\">Subject</style></td>
			<td align = \"left\"><input name=\"subject\" type=\"text\" size=\"30\"></td>
			<td colspan=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\">&nbsp; </td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td colspan=\"2\">&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td colspan=\"5\">&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
	<tr>
		<td><span class=\"style1\">Main Body </style></td>
		<td colspan=\"4\">
		";

$oFCKeditor = new FCKeditor('textarea1') ;  //this will be the name of the post item - in this case: $_POST['textarea1')
$oFCKeditor->BasePath = 'FCKeditor/';  //this is the path to the fckeditor folder relative to the send.php file
// $oFCKeditor->Value = stripslashes($_POST['textarea1']);  //if you want to use this editor on a page where you have error checking you can repopulate the text area by calling this line
$oFCKeditor->Width  = '600' ;      
$oFCKeditor->Height = '400' ;//can be % or pixels
   $oFCKeditor->ToolbarSet = 'tool' ; //here you can call your own custom toolbar
    $oFCKeditor->Create() ;


		echo "</td>


	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td colspan=\"5\">&nbsp;</td>
	</tr>

    <tr>
		<td colspan=\"5\">&nbsp;</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td><span class=\"style1\">Salutation</style></td>
		<td align = \"left\">&nbsp;<input name=\"salutation\" type=\"text\" size=\"30\"></td>
		<td colspan=\"3\">&nbsp;</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td colspan=\"5\">&nbsp;</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td colspan=\"5\"><div align=\"right\"><input type=\"submit\" name=\"Submit\" value=\"Send\">
		</div>
	</td>
	</tr>
</table>
</font>
</form>
</center>";

if ( $act == "send" ) 
{
	//want to send form, so check for required fields
	if (($_POST[subject] =="") || ($_POST[textarea1] == "")) 
		{
    		header("Location: sendMail.php");
    		exit;
		}

    //get emails from subscribers list
	$sql = "select email from list";
	$result = mysql_query($sql,$conn) or die(mysql_error());

	//create a From: mailheader
	$headers = "From: Your Mailing List <admin@yoursite.com>";
	$headers  = "MIME-Version: 1.0\r\n";
	$headers .= "Content-type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1\r\n";

function getMailContent()
	{
		$message = file("templates/template.html");
		$message = implode("", $message);
		return $message;
	}
	$message = getMailContent();

    //loop through results and send mail
	$i = 0;
		while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)) 
		{
    		set_time_limit(0);
    		$email = $row['email'];
			$targets = array("<!--EMAIL-->", "<!--MESSAGE-->", "<!--SALUTATION-->",); 
			$replace = array($row['email'], ($_POST['textarea1']), ($_POST[salutation]),); 
			$msg[$i] = str_replace($targets, $replace, $message);
	        mail("$email", stripslashes($_POST[subject]), $msg[$i], $headers);
    		print "<span class=\"style1\">newsletter sent to: $email</span><br>";
	$i++;
		}
}

?>

bpat1434

Why not post the form to a separate script that just previews the information, and then they click another link (or submit a hidden form) so that on the third page, it actually sends it.

So in essence, it'd be something as simple as:

email.php

<?php
session_start();
if(!isset($_SESSION['loggedin']))
    die('You must be logged in for this premium feature.');

?>
<form action="preview.php" method="post">
Subject: <input type="text" name="subject" size="30" />
Name: <input type="text" name="salutation" size="30" /><br />
Main Body: <br />
<?php
$fck = new FCKeditor('message');
$fck->BasePath = 'FCKeditor/';
$fck->Width = '600';
$fck->Height = '400';
$fck->ToolbarSet = 'tool';
$fck->Create();
?><br /><br />
<input type="submit" name="Submit" value="Send" />
</form>

preview.php

<?php
session_start();
if(!isset($_SESSION['loggedin']))
    die('You have to be logged in to use this premium feature.');
if(!isset($_POST) || $_POST['Submit'] != 'Send')
    die('You have to use our form in order to send an email.');

$message = implode("", file('templates/template.html'));

$_SESSION['message']['template'] = $message; // Store this for later ;)
$_SESSION['message']['subject'] = $_POST['subject'];
$_SESSION['message']['salutation'] = $_POST['salutation'];
$_SESSION['message']['message'] = $_POST['message'];

$preview = str_replace(array('<!--EMAIL-->', '<!--MESSAGE-->', '<!--SALUTATION-->'), array('%users_email%', $_POST['message'], $_POST['salutation']), $message);

echo $preview;
?>
<br />
Please read over this preview of what your message will look like.  Where it says %users_email%, that will be replaced with each users individual email address.  If everything looks okay, please click the link to proceed.<br />
<a href="send.php">Click Here to Send</a>

send.php

<?php
session_start();
if(!isset($_SESSION['loggedin']))
    die('Sorry but you have to be logged in to use this premium feature.');

$headers = "FROM: Your Mailing List <admin@yoursite.com>\r\n";
$headers .= "MIME-Version: 1.0\r\n";
$headers .= "Content-type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1\r\n";

$query = "SELECT email
    FROM list";
$result = mysql_query($query) or die('mySQL Error: ' . mysql_error());
while($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result))
{
    $find = array('<!--EMAIL-->', '<!--MESSAGE-->', '<!--SALUTATION-->');
    $replace = array($row['email'], $_SESSION['message']['message'], $_SESSION['message']['salutation']);

$message = str_replace($find, $replace, $_SESSION['message']['template']);
if(mail($row['email'], stripslashes($_SESSION['message']['subject']), $message, $headers))
    echo 'Mailed to ', $row['email'], 'successfully<br />';
else
    echo 'Failed to mail to ', $row['email'], 'successfully<br />';
}
?>

Something like that.....

konrad

This function should return content of the email (after submitting FCK form). It doesn't change  in your template.

<?php
 function previewMail(){
                $targets = array("<!--MESSAGE-->", "<!--SALUTATION-->",);
                $replace = array($_POST['textarea1'], $_POST[salutation]);
                return str_replace($targets, $replace, getMailContent()); 
 }
?>

chinrub

thanks for the replies guys this will help me out alot!
I hadnt thought about doing it like that
i'll let you know how i get on over the weekend

chinrub

ok the preview works a treat thanks alot 😃 some minor work to be done now to include my template on send again. thanks for the help guys you rule!